Families of Prisoners

The Colson Task Force, established by Congressional mandate, is a nine‐person, bipartisan, blue ribbon panel charged with examining challenges in the federal corrections system and developing practical, data‐driven policy responses. The Task Force and staff met with White House and DOJ officials (including Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett and Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates) to discuss the principles underlying these recommendations, the actionable items for each recommendation, and possible next steps.

The Colson Task Force, established by Congressional mandate, is a nine‐person, bipartisan, blue ribbon panel charged with examining challenges in the federal corrections system and developing practical, data‐driven policy responses. The Task Force released its final report and recommendations, discussed the process behind these recommendations, and answered questions from the audience and reporters.

The Urban Institute serves as the point of contact for the Charles Colson Task Force. In that role, Urban monitors a Task Force email address, through which it fields questions from varying organizations and individuals interested in federal justice system reform. To disseminate information, the project team regularly updated the Colson Task Force website. Urban also responds to media inquiries and general questions from academics and practitioners about the Task Force.

Develop a brief guidebook on how to implement risk-needs-responsivity principles. The guidebook will be prepared for a broad audience of criminal justice stakeholders, including those in King County, to: 1) Recognize the importance of risk-needs-responsivity (RNR) in supervision and rehabilitation for those in the criminal justice system; 2) Identify gaps in current practices for managing and treating those with DV offenses; 3) Apply RNR-based management strategies to one’s own population.

In Austin, Texas, team members from all 50-states,?comprising lawmakers, juvenile justice officials, and judicial leaders, convened for a two-day event,?"Improving Outcomes for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System: A 50-State Forum," to build on their recent successes and to take aim at their next challenge: lowering rearrest rates and focusing ensuring youth in contact with the juvenile justice system are being positioned for success later in life.

CSG Justice Center staff receives telephone and mail/email inquiries from the field.

Through NRRC project work, staff communicates with leaders in the field, potential partners, and stakeholders.

CSG Justice Center staff will provide office based technical assistance to Second Chance Act grantees and respond to their inquiries.

Participated in ASC?roundtable sessions that centered on bridging the gap between research and policy. Each session was attended by approx. 15 conference attendees.?
(1) Roundtable: Taking Research from the Ivory Tower and Bringing it to Legislatures and Agencies: How Research Informs Policy and Practice

This webinar is for all 2015 Second Chance Act grantees that serve adults. During the webinar, National Reentry Resource Center staff explained the training and technical assistance opportunities and resources available to grantees and Bureau of Justice Assistance staff provided an overview of the post-award grant management requirements.